Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that democracy has failed in Africa, arguing that the system has not delivered meaningful benefits to the continent’s people.
Speaking at the 60th birthday colloquium of former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, in Abuja on Monday, Obasanjo criticized Western-style democracy as incompatible with Africa’s cultural and historical governance systems.
“If you are talking about democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed,” Obasanjo stated. “And why has it failed? Because in context and content, it is not African. It does not reflect our culture, our way of life, or what we believe in.”
He further explained that before the colonial era, African societies had governance systems that effectively met the needs of their people, making them more suitable than the Western liberal democracy that was later imposed.
Obasanjo also criticized the representative democracy currently practiced, arguing that it benefits only a few while leaving the majority struggling. “Democracy is meant to be a system of government that delivers to all the people, not just a section of the people, not just a few,” he said.
The former president expressed concerns about how democracy has been manipulated by African leaders, allowing them to amass wealth illegally while citizens are left powerless. “Today, democracy has become a system where leaders grab everything illegally and corruptly and tell the people to go to court,” he lamented.
Obasanjo’s remarks come amid growing debates over governance in Africa, with many questioning whether democracy, in its current form, has truly benefited the continent.
